King Gold
King Gold was the alicorn king of Wu Xing. He is the older brother of Prince Silver, husband of Queen Juno, father of Princess Vesta, Princess Neptune, Princess Jupiter and Princess Terra and grandfather of Apolla. Gold was a kind, just and fair ruler until one day, he disappeared, leaving his eldest daughter Vesta to take over as ruler. In reality, Gold had been researching a way to reverse the shadow corruption that turned regular ponies into Shadow Ponies and traveled to the Shadowlands to test his theory. However, he was discovered frozen as a golden statue many years later by his eldest daughter and brother. Restored by Silver, Gold revealed his discovery and plan: with the power of three alicorns with light magic and Lucky Streak, they could use their power to cure infected Shadow Ponies and restore them. However, this left the Darkness Entity itself without a host. Knowing that a primordial being so powerful and evil cannot be allowed to be free, Gold willingly took the Darkness into his own body and turned himself into a statue once more. His body was then placed in Tartarus by his family to serve as the prison for the Darkness for all eternity. Physical description King Gold is a tall alicorn with a white mane and bearded face. His tail is tied with a bright blue band. He wears a golden crown with red, blue, white and green jewels and wears gold and red armor. His cutie mark is a golden crown. Personality King Gold is a compassionate and kind ruler, caring for all his subjects. He is very merciful and offers help to those in need, such as when he helped a young Prometheus. Gold places a great amount of value in family and encourages his daughters to stick together and remember that only together could they be strong. This was largely a result of Gold's confrontation and imprisonment of his own brother, Silver. Heartbroken over his brother's actions, Gold holds on tightly to his family. Gold also does not judge people based on their social status, but rather the contents of their hearts, such as when he chose to marry Juno, a common earth pony, for her kind and compassionate heart. In his older years, Gold was known to be highly secretive, keeping his research into the Shadowlands hidden from his own daughters. When Silver offered himself up to serve as the host of the Darkness, Gold stepped in to take his place. Gold expressed his deep love for his family and his desire for Silver to live a long and fulfilling life as he had before sacrificing himself. Relationships In nearly all of his relationships, Gold highly values family principles, which he passes on as teachings to his daughters. He was a loving and tender husband to his wife, Juno and a caring father to all his daughters. In the end, Gold reconciled with his brother and sacrificed himself to the Darkness so Silver would not have to, citing that he wanted to give Silver the chance to live a fulfilling life as he had. Abilities Powers *'Metal magic:' Gold's primary form of magic is metal magic, that allows him to use metal-based spells or cast spells through metal. **'Gold magic:' In particular, Gold is skilled in the use of gold magic. *'Light magic:' Gold is also capable of performing light magic, allowing him to cast light-based spells. *'Telekinesis' *'Flight' *'Immortality' Skills *'Leadership and diplomacy:' Gold is a natural leader and known for his diplomatic and mediation skills. *'Strategic planning:' Gold is a strategic planner and carefully considers several different options. *'Etiquette:' Gold was taught many etiquette lessons in his youth by his parents for interaction with high society. Equipment *'Crown' *'Armor' Background Gold was born as the first or twin sons to the King and Queen of Wu Xing and had a strong bond with his younger brother, Prince Silver. However, as the eldest, Gold would be groomed by his parents to one day take over as King. Though Gold promised to Silver that they would rule together, a misunderstanding resulted in a falling out between the two brothers as Silver tried to forcibly take the crown. With no other choice, Gold used his magic to turn Silver into a metal statue and imprison him in the catacombs beneath the palace. Gold spent many years after this heartbroken over the loss of his brother, but was still pressured by his parents to take the throne and find a suitable queen. One such candidate was Princess Celestia, a marriage alliance between Wu Xing and Equestria that their parents hoped to arrange via their marriage. However, Gold had developed feelings for an earth pony named Juno. Encouraged by Celestia to fight for true love, Gold chose to marry Juno despite his parents objections. Eventually, Gold became a father to four princesses: Vesta, Neptune, Jupiter and Terra. Fearful that what happened between him and his brother would happen again, Gold taught his daughters to always value family and support each other. Eventually, Queen Juno passed away, due to her lack of immortality like her family. Though saddened by her passing, Gold and his family knew she lived a fulfilling life. One day, Vesta caught a young pegasus trying to steal food from their palace. Instead of punishing him, Gold arranged for the pegasus, named Prometheus to be taken in by the royal guard. For centuries Gold led Wu Xing in an era of peace and balance, until one day he mysteriously disappeared, leaving Vesta to take over in his absence while trying to find him. Eventually, it is revealed that Gold had secretly been researching the Shadow Ponies and believed that those infected with darkness could be cured. Without telling his daughters of his hypothesis, Gold traveled to the Shadowlands in order to test his theory, but was never heard from again. Many years later, when his journal containing his research notes is discovered, Vesta mounts an expedition to the Shadowlands to find Gold or any clues that could lead to his whereabouts. To her surprise, she and her party do manage to find Gold, albeit petrified as a golden statue. Silver was able to reverse the spell and unpetrify Gold, following which he revealed his solution to curing the Shadow Ponies. The spell required three ponies with light magic and one pony with healing magic. However, Gold had become infected with shadows, which greatly weakened him and was the reason he turned himself into a statue. Unable to partake in the spell, Sunset Shimmer, revealed to be his granddaughter, took his place and became an alicorn. However, the Darkness was not defeated, only purged from his hundreds of hosts. Silver stepped forward, hoping to redeem himself by becoming the host of the Darkness to keep the evil entity from being free, but Gold stepped in to take his place. Despite the protests of his brother and daughter, Gold asked them not to mourn his loss and instead live long and fulfilling lives as he had. Before turning himself into a statue once more, he requested that his body be placed in Tartarus. Vesta complied with the request upon their return to Wu Xing and announced that every year, Wu Xing would celebrate King Gold's dedication to his people with the Festival of Gold. Trivia *In the concept of Wu Xing, Gold represents metal. *Unlike his daughters and wife, Gold is not named after a Roman deity. Instead, he is named after the element he represents. Category:My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic characters Category:Fan Characters Category:Animals Category:Male Category:Good Category:A to Z